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Monday, June 13, 2011

Master Bedroom Reveal: Part 1 - Introducing the Project.

Many of you know that I have been working on a project to transform my Master Bedroom and Bathroom. My bath still has quite a way to go, but the bedroom is almost complete. I started to write an initial reveal and realized that there is just too much to share and cover in one post. So I am going to break it up into parts. Today, is the first of those posts and will review the before images and address the initial goals for this project. Let's get going.

When we first moved in 6 years ago, I quickly chose paint colors and threw it together. In retrospect, I wish I had taken my time with the paint choices because living in the room over time revealed that the room does not receive much natural light and has a tendency to be dark. Using dark red and a deeply muted moss green was not the best choice for the room.

Additionally, when we moved in 6 years ago, I crowded the room out with several dark wood antiques and reproductions. I wasn't to the point of being able to sell or get rid of the furniture and I had no other place to put them. ﻿
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Hubby's Desk

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To add insult to injury, two years ago, I added a dark wood desk that had been previously used in the living room as a computer center before we became wireless. It was an attempt to give my hubby his own space. I don't believe that I ever saw him once sit and do anything at this desk. ﻿
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Hall Tree Before

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china cabinet

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I re-evaluated the furniture in the room and decided that if something was staying, I was going to paint it. There was just too much darkness and in order to lighten the room, the hard choices were going to take place. The Hall Tree was just moved up from the front entrance of the house. I was super happy with the presence it had in it's new location. I made plans to paint it white. I revealed the redo here.

The bookcase had become clutter central, filled with completed books and dust. I decided to give it a face lift, but I came to the conclusion to remove the bookcase and discussed this very thing in my blog post Throwing In The Towel. The china cabinet was removed and is now enjoying a life in my studio. The desk is currently in my workshop inventory.
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Table to be painted.

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Bookcase that eventually
is eliminated from
the room.

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Under the bed was 6 years of stuff, like extra pillows, duffel bags we don't use, an old mattress cover wrapped in a bag for safe keeping and a ton.....and I mean a ton of dust! There was even an old plastic box packed with unopened pantyhose. When that box came out from under the bed I thought to myself, "I haven't worn a pair of pantyhose in about 7 or 8 years!" We literally threw all this stuff out the backdoor and had my 17 year old load it up in the trash! We removed the red wool rug and rolled it up for cleaning. ﻿

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Installing the bead-board.

﻿So with the clutter gone, furniture parred down and some room to breath, I set out developing a game plan. My goals with this room was to lighten, brighten and create a space that ﻿was in keeping with my overall interior space. My house interior has a vintage farmhouse meets European country feel. I knew that I wanted to continue this theme into the master bedroom, but stick to a simpler color palette. My initial thoughts, probably somewhat influenced by the blogs, was an all white room. I knew that I wanted a bead board treatment installed and that all remaining furniture would be painted in lighter neutrals. I kept my parameters pretty lose and was open to shifts and changes in ideas.
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So the furniture projects began, the bead-board installation took place and the search for new bedding materials was initiated. In the next few months, I would toil away looking for many other items, including a pine armoire, new side tables, a jute rug and other materials to make this transformation a reality. In the next posts, I will share those projects with you, including a before and after on the four poster bed modifications and painting. It's been an adventure filled with ups and downs. I hope you join me as I share.....﻿﻿

2 comments:

Kudos to you for being brave enough to paint your dark furniture. While eating at Chilis this past weekend, I admired the blue-green painted paneled walls with white windows (my plan for our dining room). BUT, I have the added guilt of being the first owner to paint the 90 year old woodwork. :(